Sigh No More
by AGentlemanBastard
Summary: Chinatsu didn't know how she got here, and she didn't know how to get out of it. She didn't even know if she wanted to get out of it. All she knew was that she was with Akari and that was wrong. So why did it feel so good? [Smut, light plot]
1. One Foot in Sea, One on Shore

Sigh No More

Chapter 1: One Foot in Sea, One on Shore

Never in all her life did Chinatsu imagine that one day she would be standing over Akari Akaza, with her best friend and roommate completely naked, blindfolded, and handcuffed to her bedpost. Nor did she imagine that this situation would be Akari's idea, spurred on by the young girl's incessant curiosity upon finding a pair of purple handcuffs in Chinatsu's nightstand drawer.

Chinatsu had never known Akari to be interested in the more adventurous aspects of human sexuality, or even aware of them; she was probably the most innocent person Chinatsu had ever known. Sure, there were those "practice sessions" the two had had throughout middle school and high school, but even those never went super far.

At first it was just kissing, mostly at the insistence of a Chinatsu who was neck-deep in an impassioned infatuation with a handsome upperclassman. As the two got older, Chinatsu found her attraction to her upperclassman diminish, especially when rumors started floating around in high school that the older girl was dating someone else. The two remained friends, which Chinatsu found was surprisingly easy to accept, but Akari and Chinatsu's practicing continued, the two friends often spending several nights a week at each other's homes. Neither Akari nor Chinatsu could vocalize why they kept at it, aside from the vague notion that one day it might be useful. But it was a very vague notion; neither girl showed any interest in boys or girls from that point on, until college at least.

The truth, which neither of them wanted to admit out loud, was that they kept going because it felt good. _Really_ good. Like, everything-in-your-life-has-led-up-to-this-and-you-don't-think-you-ever-want-to-do-anything-else good. At least, that's how it was for Chinatsu, but she had the sneaking suspicion that it was the same for Akari.

When the two got into high school they started becoming more adventurous. Their mouths started traveling downwards, venturing along jawlines and exposed necks, and their hands started wandering across each other's bodies. Gradually, clothes started coming off. Touches became more tender and breathing became ragged and Chinatsu would look out the window and realize that they'd been at it for five hours and it was well-past bedtime.

They never went further than that, though. Chinatsu wanted to ( _god_ how she wanted to), and she suspected that the ever-submissive Akari would allow her to if pushed, but there was always something stopping her. This little feeling in the back of her mind, which she could never ascribe a name to, which told her that going any further would be a cataclysmic mistake. Prudish shame? Internalized homophobia?

Guilt?

When the two graduated high school, the plan to live together when they went off to college was so obvious that it was never even said aloud. Akari just sent her an apartment listing out of the blue one day, and the following week they were signing a lease agreement. Their practicing continued, but much less frequently. They both attributed it to them being busy college students without any free time, and though there was some truth to that, that truth was belied somewhat when Chinatsu started bringing other girls home with her. Akari never seemed put out by it (after all, wasn't that the whole point of the practice sessions anyways?) but Chinatsu still couldn't help but feel guilty. But she had needs and she just couldn't bring herself to meet those needs with Akari. For the last semester of their first year, the practicing stopped altogether.

Then Akari found the handcuffs. They had been given to Chinatsu by her most recent fling, though she was uncertain if she would ever try them. The idea of being tied up and giving up control didn't really appeal to her, and though she wouldn't mind trying them on someone else, how could she even bring it up to a partner without sounding like a pervert? When she expressed this to Akari, she responded with a suggestion that made Chinatsu's knees go weak:

"You could try them on me."

An hour later, Chinatsu was fiddling with the rope around Akari's ankle, making sure it wasn't loose or uncomfortably tight. The rope wasn't necessary for trying out the handcuffs, but once the handcuffs were on, Chinatsu figured, _Fuck it, might as well go all the way_. Akari didn't argue with that logic, nor did she protest when Chinatsu, in a last-minute burst of inspiration, used a hair ribbon as a makeshift blindfold. Chinatsu was almost certain she would.

When she finished, she looked down to inspect her handiwork. Akari's wrists were cuffed to the headboard, her arms stretched to show off her lithe body, and her legs were opened, each foot bound by rope to the legs of the bed. She was completely naked (which was a first for the two friends, aside from the few times they've visited a public bathhouse together) and her outstretched legs clearly showed off her swollen sex, marked by a wispy tuft of red hair. Chinatsu's heart skipped several beats as she saw how wet it was.

"How's this?" Chinatsu asked, walking along the edge of the bed. She knelt down by Akari's arm.

"I-It's fine," Akari said, clearly struggling to hide her nervousness. Her voice was shaking, and her entire body was tinged a delicious shade of pink. She wiggled her hips as best as she could, which was about two inches in either direction, the soft curves of her tummy and torso contorting with her struggles. "I can't really move much."

"Yeah, that's kind of the point," Chinatsu said with a giggle as she gently poked Akari in the forehead. "It's not too tight is it?"

Akari shook her head and smiled. "No, it's perfect. It's actually pretty comfy."

"Good." Chinatsu paused as she ran a finger through Akari's bright red hair. "Are you sure about this?"

"Mmh," she replied with a nod. "Just… be gentle okay?"

"Of course. You remember the safe words, right?" As she asked this, Chinatsu allowed her fingers to glide down Akari's neck and past her shoulders and up her arm, eliciting a soft gasp and wiggle from the bound girl.

"Ah…" Akari bit her lip as she tried to recover. "Y-Yeah. Yellow to slow down and red to stop, right?"

"That's it. I'll untie you as soon as you say 'red', so…" Chinatsu looked back up at her friend's face, which seemed to bare a strange mixture of excitement and trepidation, from what little of it she could see. She was starting to regret the blindfold. "Let me know if I go too far, okay?"

Akari's trepidation briefly melted away into that warm, inviting smile that was so characteristic of the young girl. "Don't worry. I trust you."

Chinatsu's fingers hovered over Akari's forearm. She wanted to say something like, 'Good' or 'I'm glad' in response, but she couldn't get the words to come out. Instead, she leaned forward and gently pressed her lips against Akari's. The dearly-missed softness of those lips and the intoxicating scent of the smaller girl's candy floss body spray calmed Chinatsu's nerves. Akari let out a whimper and, when Chinatsu tried to pull away, leaned her head forward to try and recapture her lips. With a soft chuckle, Chinatsu indulged her and kissed her again, lips barely parted. Akari moaned into her mouth, her pitch increasing when Chinatsu lightly ran her tongue along her lower lip. Chinatsu let out a moan herself as she tasted the familiar peach lip balm her friend wore.

Chinatsu pulled away again. Akari pushed forward again. She strained against her bonds, her lips searching. This time, Chinatsu stayed back. She knew she would satisfy her eventually, but for the time being she was content with watching her partner's ineffectual struggles. In the meantime, Akari's face turned an even darker shade of red and small beads of sweat began forming on her forehead. As Chinatsu's eyes travelled downward she saw her nipples harden and patches of goosebumps forming on her arms and legs. She ran her fingers up and down Akari's soft tricep, causing another gasp.

"Chinatsu…"

"Honestly, Akari," she said, a teasing lilt in her voice. "A couple of kisses and you're already this worked up? I don't know how you're going to make it through a whole night of this."

Akari let out a frustrated groan. "Chinatsu, please…"

With a proud smirk, Chinatsu replaced her finger with her lips, leaving a trail of soft kisses down her arm, until her face was right next to Akari's. She softened her voice to a whisper and asked, "Please what?" Her hand, now unoccupied, travelled to Akari's petite chest and began grazing over an erect nipple.

With a whimper, Akari pushed her hips forward as though trying to find something to grind against, but they only met cool air. Chinatsu's heart began racing as she saw her friend's agitated arousal. She could feel a wetness of her own start to pool between her legs. She ignored it, as best she could, as did she ignore the constant nagging worry that she was taking things too far, because if she was then Akari would just use the safe words, right?

"Please… kiss me…"

Chinatsu ran her finger down Akari's breast, along her soft belly, to her hips which were still being pushed into nothingness. She held her hand against those hips and gently lowered them back to the bed. She whispered into her friend's ear, "And where would you like me to kiss you exactly?"

Akari blushed even harder–Chinatsu worried that if she teased her any more she might literally catch fire–and turned her head to face away from Chinatsu. "Stop teasing me," she said with a pout.

The need in Akari's voice combined with her scent and Chinatsu's hormones to create a thick haze of arousal in Chinatsu's mind, shutting down her inhibitions, and empowering her to jump onto the bed herself. She threw her legs over Akari's waist and straddling her, and leaned over so that her face was above Akari's. She reached out a hand to stroke her hot cheek.

"But you're so much fun to tease! Especially when you can't do anything about it." Akari pouted, and Chinatsu lifted the hem of her miniskirt, exposing her black underwear. Of course, Akari didn't see this, but she did feel Chinatsu grind the increasingly wet cloth of her panties against her torso, as well as the searing heat building between Chinatsu's legs.

Akari groaned again; the chains of her handcuffs rattled, and the wooden headboard of Chinatsu's bed creaked, but she was nowhere closer to relief. The hand that was stroking her cheek slid under her head, grasping strands of her hair, as Chinatsu leaned in to plant a trail of kisses along her jawline.

When she got to Akari's temple, she whispered, "You're really getting frustrated, aren't you?"

Akari vigorously nodded.

"And I haven't even gotten started."

Akari squirmed again; her stomach grinded against Chinatsu's crotch sending a light shiver of pleasure up her body.

"Please…" Akari whimpered pathetically.

Chinatsu moved her head up, so that the tip of her nose was gently brushing against the tip of Akari's nose. With an affected sigh, she inched her lips closer and closer as her free hand travelled up to hover just over Akari's breasts. "Very well," she whispered, just as she closed the gap between them.

For a third time that night, their lips met. Chinatsu shifted further down Akari's body so that she was fully lying on top of her. Her hand cupped Akari's breast, gently squeezing the small mound and lightly grazing against her bright-pink areola. Akari moaned and began grinding her hips against Chinatsu's. With a smug smirk, Chinatsu once again grazed the tip of her tongue against those peach-flavored lips. This time she did not pull away; she teasingly traced her tongue against the tips of Akari's lips for another few seconds before she felt them part, granting access to the inside of that warm mouth.

Chinatsu darted her tongue inside, seeking out Akari's tongue, as her busy fingers lightly pinched the nipple they had been working on. Akari squealed into their kiss as her tongue met Chinatsu's. Much like the rest of her body, her tongue offered no resistance or struggle; it submitted to the complete dominance of Chinatsu's tongue.

As the two kissed, Chinatsu shook her other hand free of Akari's hair and dragged her fingers down her neck, making for the untouched breast. Akari's breath hitched and Chinatsu could practically feel the bound girl's heart race through her chest as she squirmed and struggled against her chains. Her travelling fingers found their mark and settled into the same rhythm of massaging, teasing, and pinching as her other hand. Akari moaned against Chinatsu's mouth. Chinatsu pulled her tongue back and gently nipped at Akari's lower lip before planting a trail off kisses from her lips and down her jawline and neck. As her mouth inched closer to those swollen breasts, her left hand gave one final squeeze before travelling further downwards, quickly being replaced by her mouth, which gave a tender-open mouthed kiss to the pink areola.

"Chinatsu…" Akari leaned her head back down and bit her lower lip as she pushed her breasts out, trying to get more of Chinatsu's touch. Chinatsu responded in turn, by rolling her tongue around one hardened nub and roughly brushing the pad of her thumb against the other. Akari began whining in her beautiful torment. "You feel so good…"

Finally, it was Chinatsu who was blushing, Akari's words causing her heart to do flips in her chest. "I'm glad you're enjoying it," she said, before baring her teeth and biting the tough, pink nipple. Akari let out a surprised cry, which was cut short when Chinatsu replaced her teeth with her tongue, running it around the marked flesh to soothe the bite. Her cry turned into whimpers and her whole body shivered in delight or agony. Chinatsu couldn't tell which.

Akari's grinding grew more and more forceful. Chinatsu could start to feel shivers of pleasure rack her own body, and she allowed herself a quick moment of weakness as she grinded back. Just a quick moment, and then she lifted her hips off Akari and shifted her weight to her knees. Akari groaned again at another loss of sensation.

Chinatsu giggled as she sensed her friends growing frustration. She began kissing around Akari's nipple, her fingers lifting to just barely brush against the irritated nub. "You're so sensitive," she said as she felt Akari push her breasts against Chinatsu, trying to get more of the sensations she was being denied.

"That's 'cuz you keep teasing me!"

"Oh? Do you not like being teased?"

Akari shivered as Chinatsu lightly marked a patch of skin to the left of her nipple. The pale indent left by her teeth quickly turned as red as Akari's hair. Akari turned her head and muttered something in the thick fabric of the pillow beneath her.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you?" Chinatsu lightly pinched the firm flesh at her fingertips, her chin resting on the other breast so that she could look up at Akari's agitated expression.

Akari squeaked at the sudden jolt of pleasure. "I s-said I need more!"

"More? More what?"

A low groan erupted from Akari's throat. "Chinatsu…"

"I can't help you if you won't tell me what you want."

"I… I can't…"

Chinatsu tilted her head back down to steal a quick kiss from the hard nub she had been tormenting, prompting more squealing and thrashing. "You're being weirdly modest for someone who asked me to tie her up." Chinatsu moved to kiss the other nipple, this time giving it a gentle lick as she moved away, kissing her way back up Akari's chest and neck. When she got to the spot just below her ear, she whispered, "I'm just gonna keep teasing you until you tell me what you want."

"N-No fair!" Akari whined.

"That's perfectly fair! How can I know what you want if you won't tell me?"

"You know what I want!"

"No I don't. I only know what I want. And what I want…" Chinatsu dragged her hands over Akari's breasts, as she moved back into a sitting position over her hips.

"…is to make you squirm…"

Down her sternum.

"…and squeal…"

Across her belly.

"…and laugh."

As she said this, Akari erupted into a stream of giggles, almost by magic. Chinatsu's fingers stopped around her navel, her fingertips spread across her tummy in a straight line.

"No…!"

"No what?"

"Please not tha- ah!"

Her plea was cut short as Chinatsu pressed her fingers further against her soft skin and dragged them downwards, slowly and torturously, before bringing them back up and skimming them all around her belly. Akari thrashed harder and squealed so loudly that Chinatsu was sure that any hope of a friendly relationship with their neighbors was completely shot. She looked up at Akari and took in her pink-tinged cheeks, heaving chest, and the silly girlish grin that was plastered forcefully on her face. She listened to the melodious stream of squeals and giggles coming from her eternally kissable mouth and the tortured pleas for mercy, which she knew were a mask that hid Akari's delight at the ticklish sensation. Chinatsu couldn't help but smile as well. _Worth it._

"You don't want me to tickle you?" Chinatsu teased, digging her fingers into Akari's sides. "I dunno, you sure seem like you're enjoying it."

"I'm not!" Akari said through her giggles, those two words taking much longer to say than they would normally. She squirmed her torso from side to side, attempting to avoid Chinatsu's attacking fingers. Chinatsu, meanwhile, entertained herself by alternating the sides of Akari's torso that she tickled. Akari would try to shift her body to the left, so Chinatsu tickled the left side of her body. Akari would then shift to the right to try and escape the tickling, allowing Chinatsu to tickle her right side. This perverted game of Pong continued for many rounds, each time Akari growing more and more frustrated, until she forced her hips up, into Chinatsu's, and let out a strangled cry.

Chinatsu gasped at the sudden forced and shifted her hips further down, her hands pushing Akari's hips back to the bed. As she did this, she caught a glance of Akari's swollen vagina. A glace that lasted about a minute, but a glance nonetheless.

She looked back up at Akari, suddenly aware of her pounding heart and dry mouth. After giving herself a second to regain her composure, she licked her lips and whispered, her voice hoarse, "Wow, you really are enjoying this."

Akari either didn't hear it or chose to ignore it. "Chinatsu, please…"

"Are you ready to tell me?"

Akari gulped. Chinatsu continued staring at her. The tension in the air made her well-air-conditioned bedroom feel like a muggy summer's afternoon.

"I… I need—ah!" She was cut off again as Chinatsu began drawing lazy circles into her hip.

"Come on, out with it!" She tried to make it sound as though she was getting bored, even though that couldn't be further from the truth; she could happily spend the rest of her life doing this.

That being said, as much fun as teasing her best friend was, she was finding it harder and harder to suppress the urge to bury her face in Akari's glistening sex. There was a dull throb in the core of her being as she felt an insatiable hunger to taste her most intimate area. This hunger for her best friend wasn't anything new, but it had never been this strong. This potent. This overpowering.

It occurred to Chinatsu that she might die if she didn't taste Akari right then and there.

"I n-need… to… cum."

Chinatsu's fingers stopped. Akari tried to bury her face into her pillow as she groaned, either in embarrassment or frustrated arousal (probably a combination of both). Goosebumps erupted over Chinatsu's pale arms as she felt a strange thrill at making such obscene words come out of the mouth of the most innocent person she had ever known.

Chinatsu was learning a lot about herself today.

Without another word, Chinatsu dragged her body over Akari's until they were face to face again. Akari shivered as the fabric of Chinatsu's dress brushed against her skin. Her face was bright red and her bangs were plastered onto her forehead with sweat. As Chinatsu took her face into both of her hands, she swore that Akari had never looked so beautiful. "Was that all you wanted? You should have said so, silly."

Akari opened her mouth several times, as though trying to vocalize some sort of protest or plea, but she couldn't seem to find the right words. Instead, she just puffed her cheeks and pouted. "Jerk."

Chinatsu paused, taken aback, before something about Akari's expression and petulant tone caused her to break out into laughter. Soon after, Akari's pouting face turned into a smile and suddenly they were both laughing uncontrollably, all of the tension between them melting away. For a moment, they stopped being a domme and her sub, and were just two friends making love. Chinatsu felt a strange warmth spread from her heart to the tips of her fingers and toes. Unable to put a word to this feeling, she just went ahead and kissed Akari, running her fingers through her hair and stroking her cheek, all the time wondering why she had been so hesitant about this in the first place.

After what could have easily been seconds, minutes, or hours–Chinatsu had a naked and aroused Akari under her, she had no concern for banal things such as the passage of time–the two separated. Chinatsu looked at Akari's smiling face, the flood of hormones flowing through her making her so deliriously happy that it was almost worrying. Chinatsu was sure she was probably smiling too, but she honestly couldn't focus any of her attention on anything other than the warm body beneath her and the labored breathing of a young woman desperate for release. Akari's smile morphed into a frown as she gyrated her hips.

"Chinatsu…"

Chinatsu giggled and pressed her lips against Akari's forehead. "I know, I know," she said as she ran her fingers through her hair and against her cheek one more time before pulling away and making her final journey down Akari's body. She continued leaving kisses as she went down; her lips searched for the places on her body that would create the biggest reaction from Akari. A kiss on her nipple, a nibble on the underside of her breast, a trailing lick down her abdomen, a suckle on a spot by her navel that Chinatsu remembered being especially ticklish. Akari squirmed and moaned and giggled all the while, until Chinatsu finally found herself kissing the top of her mons pubis.

Chinatsu's heart stopped as the scent of arousal and the gentle tickling of Akari's pubic hair overloaded her brain and she struggled to remember her own name. Her hands, which just moments ago had been so confident in their teasing and tormenting, now felt clumsy and unwieldy, as though they were made of lead. Chinatsu scooted backwards a few more inches until she was face to face with Akari's pussy lips, by which point her face felt like it was on fire and she had completely forgotten how to breathe.

"Chinatsu?"

She looked back up at Akari's face, which was again buried in her pillow and tensed to suggest that she was squeezing her eyes shut. Her mouth was open and panting and arms tugging against her handcuffs.

"Are you okay?" Chinatsu asked, kissing the soft skin of her left thigh, the heat radiating from Akari's sex searing her skin.

"Mmm… yeah. Just… be gentle, okay?"

Tempted as she was to point out that Akari had just been complaining that she was being _too_ gentle, Chinatsu just planted another kiss on the opposite thigh and said, "I will." She took a brief moment to catch her breath and try and calm her racing nerves–which did nothing–and sank her lips into Akari's wet folds.

"AH!" Akari yelped and thrust her hips further into Chinatsu's face, which not only made her cry even more but also nearly caused Chinatsu to pass out from over-stimulation. The heat against her face was near-volcanic and the moistness of Akari's arousal felt so damn _right_. Chinatsu suddenly felt she needed to send a bouquet of flowers to the friend who had given her the handcuffs.

Tomorrow, though. Right now, the only thing she wanted to do was make Akari have an orgasm so intense that the sounds of her moans could get them evicted.

" _Chinatsu!"_

She was certainly on the way.

Chinatsu smiled against Akari's lips and managed to find the capacity to move her arms, gently stroking Akari's breasts with one hand and worming her way underneath Akari's hips to grasp at her soft butt with her other hand. Her position locked and loaded, she turned all of her attention back to the wetness building against her lips. With a soft gulp, Chinatsu tentatively poked her tongue out and dragged it along Akari's sex.

Akari's voice rose several octaves, and Chinatsu quickly came to the conclusion that Akari was probably the best thing she had ever tasted; there was a strange sweetness underlying the natural acidity, because of course there was, this was Akari. And Chinatsu wanted more.

She gave several more licks along those lips, her heart still pounding but her nervousness now overridden with carnal desire. She moaned into Akari's sex, causing her to give a high-pitched whine. Chinatsu pulled back to look up at her friend's adorable face, quickly replacing her tongue with the index finger that had previously been teasing her nipples. Chinatsu took in her friend's panting mouth and heaving chest and felt a strange surge of pride.

"Does that feel good, Akari?"

Akari didn't respond verbally, but instead moaned and thrust her hips further against Chinatsu's finger. Chinatsu placed her hand back on Akari's hip and forced them down, stroking Akari's lips with her thumb. She took great care not to touch the spot where the clitoris was hiding.

Yet.

"I _said_ , does that feel good?"

Akari groaned. She seemed unsure whether or not she was glad that the teasing was back. "Yes…" she moaned.

"I'm glad," Chinatsu said, kissing a spot on Akari's thigh, directly adjacent to her labia. "Now, I forget. What was it you wanted again?"

"Chinatsu, please!" Akari said with a strangled cry. "Stop teasi- ah!"

It was at this moment Chinatsu chose to gently brush against Akari's clitoris, her thumb sufficiently slick from the juices oozing from Akari's vagina. She kissed just above that hardened nub. "Just say it one more time," she muttered. "Then I'll give it to you."

Akari whimpered and squirmed beneath Chinatsu's touch. Her normally high-pitched and cutesy voice was now hoarse and husky and so _unbelievably_ sexy. "P-Promise?"

Chinatsu left a trail of kisses along Akari's thigh and gently squeezed her rear. She looked up at Akari with a wink, momentarily forgetting she couldn't see it. "Cross my heart."

"Chinatsu… please make me cum."

Chinatsu planted a chaste kiss on Akari's clit. "How badly do you want it?" she asked, nuzzling against the wet mound.

Akari gasped and ground her crotch against Chinatsu's cheek. "I n-need it. I need it so badly…"

Another kiss, followed by a quick stroke with her tongue. "And who's your best friend in the whole world?"

There was another groan, followed by a frustrated cry of "Chinatsu!" which was either an answer or an exclamation. Either way, it was enough for Chinatsu, who wasted no more time in pressing her tongue against Akari's needy cunt.

"AH!"

Akari thrust her hips against Chinatsu's tongue, but this time Chinatsu didn't pull away. She continued lapping against her clit, alternating between long and languid strokes and quick, short laps. The hand that was holding Akari's hips down moved to her thighs, and her index and middle fingers began stroking against her lips again, before gently sliding in her slick, hot entrance.

Chinatsu flicked her eyes upwards and saw Akari's mouth wide-open as she panted in ecstasy. She looked further down and saw her heaving swollen breasts, slightly jiggling as Akari squirmed against her bonds. Chinatsu could feel her own womanhood throb with urgent need, and she squeezed her thighs together as she tried to ignore it. She focused on the adorable sound of need in Akari's voice, the feeling of her soft butt and wet pussy against her fingers, and the taste of her clitoris against her tongue. She curled her fingers upwards, pressing against the inner walls of her vagina, and closed her lips to carefully ( _very_ carefully) suckle that clit.

Akari's voice rang out again in a crystal-clear _fortissimo_. " _Oh my God! Chi-na-tsuuuuu!"_

Chinatsu moaned into Akari's crotch, the melodic sound of her voice goading her even further, as well as the building tension she could feel squeezing against her fingers. She was getting close. It seemed as though Akari was getting there quicker than any other girl she had been with. Was it all the teasing? Or her lack of experience?

Then again, maybe they've been at this longer than she thought. It could have been five minutes or five hours since they started; she wouldn't have known the difference.

"Chinatsu… I'm so close…"

Chinatsu looked back and saw Akari's tense brow and pursed lips. Yes, she certainly was. She kept up the rhythm of licks and strokes she had been maintaining, until Akari whimpered out, "Chinatsu, can I please cum?" and Chinatsu nearly died from arousal at being asked for permission. This was unexpected, but not at all unwanted.

"What was that?"

"Please!" Akari cried out.

"Please what?"

"Please let me cum!"

She was there. Chinatsu could hear it in her voice and feel it in the wet flesh pulsating against her fingers. But even deeper than that, there was something else, maybe a mental link between the two girls who had been best friends since middle school. She couldn't place why, but she just knew. She buried her fingers into that entrance as far as the would go and wrapped her lips around that nub, determined not to let go of it until her lover was completely spent.

When it came, it didn't come quite as Chinatsu expected, with an earth-shattering cry of ecstasy that shattered the windows and brought the rafters down on top of them. Rather, it was more like a wave: building from a gentle gasp out of the back of Akari's throat, to a rumbling moan that got more and more intense, until it peaked in a soft but heartfelt string of: "Chinatsu… oh god, Chin- ah! Ah! AH!" and then her body tensed like a guitar string on the brink of snapping. When she broke, she deflated like a balloon, collapsing to the bed below her as her limbs went limp and the chains around her arms slackened. Chinatsu's mouth held on to Akari's clitoris for dear life all while this was happening, until she felt her body give out and she let go with a gentle _pop_.

For the next few seconds, there were no sounds save for the labored breathing of an exhausted Akari and a still-heavily-aroused Chinatsu. She stared at her worn-out lover, sure that she would remember this view for the rest of her life. Akari broke the silence and said, "Kiss me." Her voice was quiet and tired-sounding, but her lips were curled into a content smile. Chinatsu was powerless to refuse.

She crawled up to where Akari was and reached up to pull down the blindfold; a beautiful pair of sparkling violet eyes looked back at her. Chinatsu smiled back at her. She never noticed how bright those eyes were.

"Hi there," she said.

Akari giggled. "Hey."

The two kissed. The intense heat and urgent desire of previous kisses was gone, replaced with a gentle affection as Chinatsu laid her body on top of Akari's and happily sank into her friend's soft warmth.

-  
Five years ago…  
-

" _Eh!?"_

 _Chinatsu stared at Akari as her friend's cheeks turned bright red and her eyes darted to the floor beneath them. The two girls had just gotten back from school and were still dressed in their uniforms, a red knee-length dress with a white sailor-style cardigan, sitting on the hardwood floor of Akari's bedroom. They had spent the past several minutes idly chatting about nothing in particular. As they spoke, Chinatsu noticed her friend getting more and more uncomfortable, as though she was hiding something. After a while, she asked Akari what was bothering her, and she responded with… well._

" _I'm sorry, what was that?" Chinatsu said, blinking in bewilderment. Surely, she must have misheard her._

" _I s-said, do y-you want to p-practice kissing?"_

 _Chinatsu's face turned pale and a knot formed in her stomach. Her eyes fell, mirroring Akari's humiliated expression. It had been nearly a year since Chinatsu revealed her crush on their mutual friend and upperclassman to Akari and the disastrous events that followed. Part of her had hoped that Akari–airheaded as she could be sometimes–had forgotten about what Chinatsu did to her. The two had never brought it up since, and aside from a few awkward silences shortly after their friendship continued completely unchanged. She never even mentioned the idea of them "practicing" again. So why now?_

" _Akari… where is this coming from?"_

 _Akari wrung her hands together in her lap. "Well, I've just been thinking… I really care about you and Yui, and I know that you want to be with her and I promised that I would do anything I could to help, so…"_

 _Chinatsu's insides twisted, making her feel nauseated. "Akari, you don't have to—"_

" _I know!" Akari looked up at Chinatsu, her eyes filled with a sudden determination. "But I want to!" There was a brief moment of silence before Akari's cheeks started burning again. "I-I mean, I want to help you," she muttered. She dared to sneak another glance at Chinatsu. "You haven't kissed anyone since then, have you?"_

 _Chinatsu shook her head, biting her chapped lower lip._

" _Right. So you still need to practice with someone. I mean, what if it finally happens with Yui, and you don't know what to do?" A small smile crept across Akari's face as she seemed to grow more comfortable with her argument._

 _At the mention of Yui's name, Chinatsu's heart started pounding, as it often did, and her mind filled with images of her and her gorgeous upperclassman embracing, bodies pressed against each other, hearts pounding in delicious synchronicity, lips inching closer and closer. Then her mental image shifted, and Yui morphed into Akari. They were lying on the floor. Chinatsu had Akari pinned down as her violet eyes glazed over, and what was once Yui's husky voice exclaiming her name turned into Akari's childishly innocent voice giving out protests that were growing weaker as their lips collided._

 _Chinatsu mustered all of her willpower to calm her racing heart. "I'll be fine," she said through gritted teeth. "Really, don't worry about it."_

 _The two friends fell into a silence, broken only by the gentle ticking of Akari's alarm clock and the sound of the breeze flowing through the window. Akari looked up at Chinatsu, hands clasped to her chest and her mouth trying to form words. Chinatsu looked back at her, trying to hide her guilt behind a mask of stone. Whether it was guilt for turning Akari down or for her actions a year ago, she couldn't tell._

 _After several seconds of false starts, Akari took a deep breath and said, "What if I want to practice too?"_

 _Chinatsu swallowed, her mouth suddenly very dry. "Why, uh, I mean, er…" she stammered. After a few more monosyllabic utterances, she settled on asking, "Why?"_

" _Because…" Akari scooted closer to Chinatsu so that their knees were touching. "I don't know anything about that kind of stuff either. And I want to be prepared in case… you know."_

" _You mean there's someone for you?" For some reason, Chinatsu felt her heart sink._

" _No, no, no!" Akari threw her hands up in denial. "I just mean, if there ever is, I want to be ready." Her hands fell and clutched the front of her skirt. "So…"_

 _Chinatsu stared at those hands. They were only fractionally smaller than her own, but somehow they seemed far more delicate. More easily subdued. She knew from experience that if she wanted to restrain Akari, there was little that her friend would be able to do. Knowing that made her feel sick._

" _Akari, do you…" She looked back up at her friend's face. Her cheeks were still red, but her lips were gently curved into that gentle, easygoing smile that was so characteristic of her. That smile that was just impossible to say no to. The question Chinatsu was about to ask, that she had wanted to ask for almost a year, died between her lips under the radiant light of that smile. "Are you sure?"_

 _Akari's head tilted in a nod. She reached over and wrapped her fingers around Chinatsu's hand, her head slowly getting closer to Chinatsu's. Chinatsu licked her lips, every fiber of her being screaming at her to shut this down. Push Akari away, yell at her, cry, do something! But she couldn't react fast enough. All she could do was close her eyes and brace herself for the coming impact._

 _Then the two pairs of lips met, and everything felt right again. She let out a gasp as her heart felt lighter than air. The voice in her head telling her that this was wrong was silenced, because she was kissing Akari and how could that be anything but perfect? All the nausea that was building up in Chinatsu's stomach evaporated. The tension she carried felt instantly soothed under the gentle caress of Akari's lips on her own, and she suddenly felt like she and Akari were floating off of the ground and out of the open window and soaring into the brilliant light of day._

They were lying in Chinatsu's bed, sweaty and exhuasted. They had both changed into pajamas and were lying under the covers, Akari's head buried in the crook of Chinatsu's neck, arms wrapped around each other as though the other would disappear if they let go. The lights were off, the room only barely illuminated by the full moon shining its borrowed light through the window, and the handcuffs had been carelessly tossed to the side of the bed. For a moment, the only sounds were the breathing of the two lovers and the gentle hum of the air conditioner.

Akari broke the silence when she pulled away to look at Chinatsu, an expression of shocked realization in her eyes. "Wait, you didn't…" She trailed off, cheeks tinged pink as her eyes darted away. "You know."

It took Chinatsu a minute to realize what Akari was trying to say. A lump formed in her throat and she quickly muttered, "I'm fine."

Akari looked back up at her, brow furrowed in confusion. "Really? You must be super frustrated."

Chinatsu shook her head. "Really, I'm okay."

"Oh." Akari's hand idly stroked Chinatsu's arm, her voice lowered like a reprimanded child. "I guess it didn't do much for you then?"

As she squeezed her thighs together, trying to ignore the incessant throbbing between her legs, Chinatsu struggled to find a way to tell Akari how wrong she was. In truth, the only way she was able to keep her urges in check was by making her shower as cold as possible before bed. It only partially helped. She kissed Akari on the forehead. "No, it did a lot for me. Trust me."

Chinatsu pulled Akari back into their embrace and ran her fingers through her silky hair and up and down her back. "I just wanted tonight to be for you. That's all."

Akari settled back into her old position, nuzzling the nape of Chinatsu's neck. The tone of her voice still seemed disappointed. "Oh. Okay."

More silence passed between the two. Chinatsu could feel Akari's body relax and her breathing slow down, even as she herself started drifting away.

"Chinatsu?" Akari said through a yawn.

"Mmm?"

"Next time is gonna be for you, 'kay?"

 _Next time_ … those words echoed through Chinatsu's mind as she felt her consciousness slip and her eyelids drop. _Next time._

Could there be a next time?


	2. Man Is a Giddy Thing

**CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains dub-con, as well as some discussion/description of potential non-con. Please exercise caution when reading, if you are sensitive to such material.**

 **Well, I hope you guys don't mind a bit of angst, because that's what's happening. I promise, there will be more fluff/smut in the future.**

* * *

Sigh No More

Chapter 2: Man Is a Giddy Thing

The next morning, Chinatsu found herself standing in the doorway to their tiny kitchen, watching as Akari cooked breakfast. She held a sizzling frying pan in her hand as the small room filled with the warm scents of butter and eggs. Her hair was tousled and tangled, but her body seemed full of energy as she hummed a cheerful song to herself. She gently tossed two half-cooked eggs in the air and allowed them to fall back onto the hot pan, bobbing her head or swaying her hips every so often to the tune in her head.

Chinatsu watched her for several minutes, entranced by the adorable display. Her eyes fixated on Akari's shoulder, exposed by her slightly-too-large pajama shirt, as she became overwhelmed with a sudden urge to grab Akari from behind and kiss up and down that soft neck, slowly undoing the buttons of that shirt until . . .

Chinatsu's heart raced as her mind started going into overdrive. _That's enough!_ she thought, as she slammed her eyes shut and violently shook her head to rid herself of the intrusive thoughts.

"Chinatsu?"

She opened her eyes again and saw Akari looking back at her, violet eyes shining in the morning light peeking through the window. Chinatsu gulped, remembering how they looked under the pale moonlight, sparkling in post-orgasmic bliss as she pulled her blindfold off. She forced a tense smile onto her face as she stepped into the kitchen. "Good morning."

Akari set the frying pan back on the stove and turned around to pull Chinatsu into a warm, half-heartedly returned hug. "Morning," she mumbled as she buried her face in Chinatsu's neck and hair.

Unsure what else to say, Chinatsu repeated herself ("Good morning . . .") with an awkward pat on Akari's head, eliciting a laugh from the smaller girl. Seconds passed as the two held on to each other, Akari seemingly unaware of Chinatsu's racing heart, and the eggs in the pan slowly went from medium to well-done.

Akari pulled back from the hug and looked up at Chinatsu, the goofy grin on her face slowly starting to fade. "Are you okay?"

Chinatsu stepped past Akari to rescue the eggs from burning in the pan. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I dunno. You just seem a bit out of it."

"I'm just tired. Last night was pretty intense."

"I'll say," Akari said with a giggle. "And I didn't even get to do anything."

"Yeah, well . . . you know." Chinatsu kept her back turned to Akari as she moved the pan off of the heat, determined not to let her blush show, and reached up to the cabinet, suddenly feeling a strong desire for caffeine.

"Yeah, I know. But I'll take the lead next time for sure!"

Chinatsu's fingers clenched around the cabinet door, knuckles turning white. "Yeah. Next time."

After a minute of rifling through the nearest cupboard in search of coffee grounds, she pulled out the first bag she could find. As she fumbled with the seal, Chinatsu felt a gentle tug on the hem of her shirt.

"How about tonight?"

The bag slipped through her fingers and fell onto the counter with a dull thud. Chinatsu turned around and saw a crimson-cheeked Akari staring at her own feet, still clutching onto the fabric of her shirt. "T-Tonight?"

Akari nodded as she shyly looked back up at Chinatsu. "I mean, I'm off work. And it's Friday, so I don't have any homework that I can't put off to tomorrow, so . . ."

Chinatsu's heart skipped as she looked at that cute, hopeful face—that playful glimmer in her eyes, the pink flush in her dimpled cheeks, those soft lips curled into a half-smile that was equal parts innocent and impish. Akari was looking at her like she was the only person in the world, and Chinatsu just couldn't. She turned back to the bag of coffee on the counter and tried to put as much of herself into her coffee-making routine as she could. In what she hoped was a casual-sounding tone, she said, "I'm sorry, I was going to start working on my Literature essay tonight."

"Isn't that essay not due for two weeks?"

"W-Well yeah, but I want to get an early start on it."

"Oh. Okay."

As Chinatsu filled the carafe with water, she could hear Akari walk away and grab two plates from a cabinet, the once exuberant and excitable girl now silent. Chinatsu's stomach began twisting itself into a knot. Without even thinking, she blurted out, "What about Sunday?"

Plates in hand, Akari turned back to her, her eyes wide. She broke out into a massive grin, nearly singing out the word, "Okay!"

Chinatsu forced a smile back at her. "Cool. Sunday it is, then."

"Yep!" With a look of utmost determination, Akari pointed at Chinatsu and declared: "And I'll be taking the lead this time!"

Chinatsu slammed the carafe back in the coffee maker, her heart suddenly pounding again, and ran her tongue over her dried lips. "Yeah . . . sounds good. Can't wait."

* * *

As much as she normally liked to consider herself a good student, there was absolutely no hope of Chinatsu ever being able to focus on her lectures that day. Between memories of the previous night constantly invading her mind, as well as the promise of a repeat performance looming over her head, she was pretty much doomed the second she stepped out of her apartment, a far-too cheerful Akari following in lock-step behind her. Even when they separated for their different classes, Chinatsu would constantly be reminded of Akari in some banal way: a passing student wearing the same candy floss body spray as her, a flower with the same shade of violet as her eyes, a girl stumbling and letting out a cry that reminded Chinatsu of Akari's desperate wail as she began reaching her climax. Several times during her classes, Chinatsu had to excuse herself to the restroom in a vain attempt at calming her overactive imagination, because how the hell was she supposed to focus on the history of Neoclassical art in this kind of environment? How could have been blamed when her Literature professor called on her to answer a question about _Middlemarch_ , and she still thought she was in Intro to Design?

And along with all these intrusive thoughts and fantasies of what might happen between her and Akari on Sunday, was a whole mess of confusion. Because being with Akari should have been a happy thing. Chinatsu should have been looking forward to it, because Akari was her best friend, and one of the prettiest girls she knew, and kissing Akari in her bed as she came down from that high was the happiest Chinatsu could ever remember feeling.

But afterwards, when they were lying in bed together and slowly drifting off to sleep, Chinatsu wasn't happy at all. She just felt guilty. Like she had violated her friend in some horrible way. But that was ridiculous. She knew it was.

So why couldn't she stop feeling that way?

* * *

"Chinatsu?"

At the sound of her name, Chinatsu jolted out of her internal conflict and back into reality. She was sitting in a coffeehouse on the edge of campus, a small latte in front of her, which at one point was steaming hot but was now barely lukewarm. Across from her on the slightly-cramped four-seater table was Yui, staring at her over a nearly-empty mug of black coffee, a look of concern in her light-brown eyes.

"You okay? You haven't said a word since we sat down."

"Sorry," Chinatsu said. "I've just been kinda out of it today."

Yui drained the last dregs of her coffee and set the mug down on the roughly-hewn wooden table. "Is something bothering you?"

Biting her lip, Chinatsu lowered her eyes, looking at the leaf pattern drawn into the surface of her untouched latte. There were no other customers in the store, save for a couple of students sitting against the wall, but they had headphones on, so they probably wouldn't be listening, right? She took a deep breath and leaned forward. She was by no means comfortable talking about this, but Yui was the most reliable person she knew, as well as the most experienced when it came to this type of thing.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked in a hushed whisper.

Yui nodded and leaned forward as well.

Chinatsu's eyes fell again; she didn't dare to make eye contact with her. "When, um . . . w-when you have . . ."

She couldn't help but stammer, as it was starting to occur to her that she was about to talk about her sex life in public. Which actually wasn't normally that big of a deal for her, but for some reason, in this context it felt like the most humiliating thing imaginable.

"When you're _with_ someone. Is it normal to feel . . . weird afterwards?"

Yui raised an eyebrow, her face otherwise remaining stoic. "Weird, how?"

"Like . . . guilty?"

"Hmm." Yui pursed her lips as she leaned back. Her expression seemed like she was studying Chinatsu, making her feel even more embarrassed. Desperate to hide her face, Chinatsu took a sip from her cold coffee, grimacing as she did so.

"Was it Akari?"

"Urk!" Chinatsu gagged on her cold coffee, sputtering as she tried to force the liquid out of her throat.

"Sorry," Yui said, handing her a napkin and a water bottle.

Frantically, she took grabbed the bottle and took a long swig of water, her other hand wiping the coffee off of her face. "H-How did you know!?" Chinatsu said when she finally calmed down, her voice still hoarse.

"Just a guess. I know that you've been with plenty of people before without any trouble, and I know that you've fooled around with Akari before." Yui shrugged. "Wasn't too hard to figure out."

"You're too modest." Chinatsu took a sip from the water bottle, still trying to get the raspiness out of her voice.

"So, you and Akari?"

"Yeah. Nothing serious, though."

Yui nodded. "Sorry, but I don't have much experience in non-serious relationships."

"Oh." Chinatsu fidgeted with the plastic bottle, her appetite for coffee gone. "So, you've never felt like this with Ayano or Kyoko?"

Drumming her fingers against the table, Yui hummed thoughtfully. "It was a little strange for me when we first started; I didn't know anything about polyamory, so I just felt like a third wheel a lot. It didn't help that they had already been dating for a while, and that I never felt particularly close with Ayano." With a shrug, Yui continued, "But the longer it went on, the more I got used to it. And they were really good about making me feel included."

"I see." Chinatsu looked up and watched as the other students in the shop started packing up their things and getting ready to leave.

"Do you know why you feel this way?"

"No," Chinatsu said, shaking her head. "It's not like I didn't enjoy it. And I know Akari did. She even wants to do it again this weekend. And a part of me wants to too, but . . ." She trailed off as she watched the students leave, the dinky bell over the glass door letting out a small chime as they stepped outside.

"Chinatsu." Yui reached out and took Chinatsu's hand in hers, giving a gentle squeeze. Chinatsu knew what she was going to say immediately. "You should talk to her about this."

She wanted to protest. To argue. Maybe even call up the much more easygoing Kyoko and ask for a second opinion. But she knew Yui was right. She usually was.

"Talk to who?"

Chinatsu's heart stopped, and she whipped her head around to see Akari standing behind her with Ayano, a girl one year their senior with a long violet ponytail and sharp brown eyes, each of them holding a steaming paper cup in their hand. Both had a look of confusion at Chinatsu's panicked reaction.

"W-W-W-What are you two doing here?"

"We come here every day after classes. We've been doing this all year, remember?" Ayano said as she walked over to the empty chair next to Yui, placing a quick kiss on her cheek as she did so.

"Are you okay?" Akari asked, gently touching Chinatsu's forehead. "You look warm."

Chinatsu's heart skipped again, making her wonder if she should consult a doctor. Surely this was the sign of some sort of serious cardiac problem, right? It certainly had nothing to do with the way Akari's soft fingertips were lightly brushing against her, or the way she was looking at Chinatsu, as though she were cradling an infant.

"I'm fine," Chinatsu muttered, turning back to the table and picking her drink back up. At this point her coffee was nearly inedible, but she hoped the mug would hide her distressed expression.

Akari pulled out the chair next to Chinatsu, setting down her drink on the table. It was topped with an unholy amount of whipped cream, and whatever it was, it probably contained more sugar than Chinatsu's body would have been able to handle. "Sorry, we didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't."

"Good." Akari's eyes darted between Yui and Chinatsu. "So . . . what were you guys talking about?"

Yui looked back at Chinatsu with a raised eyebrow.

"Just some stuff going on with my sister. Not a big deal."

"Oh." Chinatsu felt Akari's fingers brush against her arms. She shivered at the contact and desperately hoped Akari hadn't noticed. "You sure you're okay?" she said in a hushed tone, as Yui and Ayano began talking between themselves.

"Mmhmm." Chinatsu nodded, her eyes fixed on the mug in her hands as she tried to calm herself. Akari's eyes stayed on her, lovely and shimmering with worry, until Yui caught her attention and the two started talking.

Chinatsu breathed a sigh of relief, no longer feeling the weight of her best friend's scrutiny. As the conversation at the table started to pick up without her, her mind started to drift away again, and she thought about what Yui told her. She was right, of course; she needed to talk to Akari. But how do you confront someone about feelings that you don't even understand yourself?

She spent the rest of that afternoon in a daze, listlessly dragging herself after her friends as they left the coffeeshop and boarded the train home. Before she knew it, she was back in her living room, alone again with Akari. She looked up, and there she was, looking at her with those sparkling eyes. Seriously, how has Chinatsu been her friend for five years and never noticed how beautiful her eyes were?

Akari smiled at her. She forced a smile back. She wanted to say something, anything, to break the uneasy tension.

"Welp, I guess I should get started on that essay."

"Okay," Akari said, her smile faltering. She was standing in the doorway that led to their bedrooms. As Chinatsu stepped forward, she stayed there, blocking her. Before she could try to squeeze past, Akari pulled her into a warm hug, taking her by surprise. She wanted to pull away, but Akari's softness and inviting scent overpowered her sensibilities, almost calming her. Was it even possible to be panicking and calm at the same time?

After an amount of time that equally felt far too short and like an eternity, Akari pulled away, gently kissing Chinatsu on the cheek. She looked up at Chinatsu, biting her lip, and Chinatsu stared at her dumbly. "Something's been bothering you, hasn't it?"

Chinatsu shook her head. "I told you, I'm fine. I just . . ."

What could she possibly say that would assuage Akari's worry? She couldn't open up now, it was far to soon; she needed at least twenty-four hours to mentally get ready, maybe prepare a speech, do some meditating. Unsure of what else to do, she said the first thing that came to mind:

"I'm just really excited for Sunday."

 _Goddammit, Chinatsu!_

With a blush and a shy smile, Akari said, "Me too. It feels like the weekend can't go by fast enough. It's too bad you have to start on that essay today."

"Y-yeah, well, you know me," Chinatsu stammered, lightly pushing against Akari's shoulders, "If I don't get it started now, I never will."

"I get it. I guess I'll get started on my homework too."

"Yeah, good. Do that." She was now halfway down the hallway, practically shouting over her shoulder. "See you on Sunday!" Finally, she was in her room, the door closed behind her, gasping for breath and sweat pooling on her forehead.

 _Talk to her about this . . . like hell, I could._

* * *

Unable and unwilling to bring the issue up to Akari, especially after her royal fuck-up on Friday, Chinatsu decided that the best way to deal with these feelings was to ignore them completely. Sure, it may not have been the healthiest thing to do, but the only real alternative, aside from moving across the country and changing her last name to Yamada, would have involved actually figuring out what these feelings were, and she just couldn't have dealt with that. So, she opted for denial.

Saturday came and went, and then it was Sunday. A part of her hoped that Akari might forget or lose interest, but then Akari came home from her afternoon shift at work and looked at Chinatsu with the most obvious expression imaginable. Then before she could even realize what was happening, she was sitting in Akari's bed, the smaller girl straddling her lap and running her hands through Chinatsu's thick hair, and Chinatsu had one hand clawing at Akari's back and her other hand groping her rear. Akari looked at her, a lusty haze fogging up her eyes, silently asking a question. Chinatsu answered without a second thought, pressing her chapped lips against Akari's petal-soft ones.

How did it always happen like this? What was it about Akari's lips that were so calming, that they could so easily melt the pit in Chinatsu's stomach and make her feel like nothing could ever be wrong in her world? Chinatsu wondered if there was any way to capture that attribute, that essential _Akari-_ ness, so that she could pull it out whenever she felt her anxiety get the better of her. For the moment, she was content with just capturing Akari's lips.

Though, in this instance, it was more like Akari's lips were capturing her. Gone was the retrained, submissive girl of three nights ago. Akari was on a mission, and it was all Chinatsu could do just to keep up with her as she started insistently tugging her denim jacket off.

Doing her best to ignore the pounding of her heart, Chinatsu rolled her shoulders to allow the jacket to come off, revealing her red tank-top and bare arms. As she moved to respond in kind (she had been fighting the urge to rip off that frilly skirt since they started), Akari grabbed both of her wrists and pushed Chinatsu onto her back.

With a surprised gasp, Chinatsu looked up at Akari, the overhead lights framing her smiling face like a golden halo. She leaned in, her lips barely an inch from Chinatsu's, and whispered, "I told you that tonight would be all for you, remember?"

Shocked by this display of dominance from the normally meek girl, Chinatsu could only nod in response.

"You got to have all of the fun last time, so it's only fair, right?"

"B-But—"

Chinatsu was interrupted by a sudden ticklish sensation as Akari ran her index finger down her torso to her belly. "Do I need to go get the handcuffs?" Her breath was searing against Chinatsu's ear, but there was a slight tremble in her voice, suggesting she wasn't quite as confident as she was acting.

Wanting to make things easier for her, Chinatsu shook her head. "I'll be good."

Akari pulled away, slowly dipping her hand underneath Chinatsu's tank-top. "Good," she said, eyes shining with victory. Chinatsu shivered at the feeling of Akari's hand against her stomach, the pounding in her chest getting harder to ignore. With another kiss against her lips, Akari began peeling the fabric of Chinatsu's top away from her body. "Arms up," she commanded.

Chinatsu complied, her entire body flushing pink as her the hem of her top traveled across her abdomen, breasts, and shoulders, before the garment was tugged over her head and thrown across the room, leaving her topless, save for a lacy black bra.

Akari's eyes widened as they travelled across Chinatsu's torso. Her cheeks grew pink, and her confident smile faltered as she averted her eyes. "Oh, w-wow . . ."

"Akari?" Chinatsu looked down at herself, worried that there was something wrong with her appearance.

"Sorry, it's just . . ." She clenched her fingers over her chest, cheeks turning from pink to bright red. "It's been a while since I've seen you like this," she said, voice dropping to a mumble. "I forgot how pretty you are."

Chinatsu's voice caught in her throat; she was sure that she was blushing just as hard as Akari was. "T-Thank you. You're really pretty too." Had her brain not started malfunctioning at the compliment, she probably would have come up with something much smoother. Even so, Akari seemed to be pleased by it, as her lips curled up into a shy smile and she leaned back into Chinatsu.

As she kissed Chinatsu again, Akari ran her fingers back up her torso, just barely letting the tips of her fingernails graze against her lover's porcelain skin. Chinatsu moaned against Akari's lips as a warm wetness started pooling between her legs, and her nipples hardened against the fabric of her bra. Akari moved her hand to cup one of Chinatsu's breasts, eliciting a gasp, and ran her other hand along her hip. As her hands roamed around her body, Akari's lips travelled over Chinatsu's face, planting a trail of kisses along her cheek, jaw, and neck. As she began squeezing Chinatsu's breast in earnest, Akari kissed just below her ear and let out a gentle sigh, whispering into her ear, "I love you."

Chinatsu's breath hitched, and her eyes shot open at Akari's declaration, the words ringing in her ears. This was by no means the first time Akari had said those words to her. In fact, she said them on an almost daily basis, to everyone she was close to, because that was just the kind of person she was. And she always said them in that same calm, affectionate tone with which she whispered them into Chinatsu's ear. Chinatsu doubted that Akari even realized what she was saying; she probably just casually let them slip out in her relaxed, sex-addled state.

So why did they have such an effect on her, causing her heart to race and her whole body to tremble? Why was her mouth so dry, and her head so disoriented? Why was her stomach starting to twist itself over and over into that familiar knot again, as the words echoed throughout her mind?

 _I love you._

 _I love you._

 _I love you._

Meanwhile, Akari was on the move, her lips travelling down Chinatsu's neck to her chest, as her hands snaked around her back to fumble with her bra strap.

"Akari . . ."

Her voice was barely a whisper, and went unheard by Akari, whose lips made their way to one of Chinatsu's breast and gently sank into the warm, shivering flesh. The hand that wasn't busy with Chinatsu's bra was hungrily making its way down her body, to the wetness between her legs.

Chinatsu tried to jerk her hips away, but they were trapped by Akari's legs. Unsure of what to do, she grasped at the sheets around her, trying to get a hold on something. She wanted to do something, _anything_ , to get Akari to stop: scream, cry, push her off, but nothing came out of her.

No, don't, please stop, wait, yellow, red—these words swirled around inside of her, unable to find an exit.

Her bra came off. Numb, Chinatsu allowed it to be tugged off of her.

 _No . . ._

Akari's lips closed around her hard nipple, her tongue tentatively brushing against the tip.

 _Stop . . ._

Her fingers slipped under the thin fabric of Chinatsu's panties, grasping at her butt.

 _Red._

Akari bit down on the nipple. Chinatsu let out a gasp, though she could barely feel it. Her head was beginning to frantically shake as she let out a stream of soft yelps from the back of her throat. Those taunting fingers travelled around her hip, to her soft thighs.

 _Red!_

Fingertips brushed against her labia. Chinatsu began tugging uselessly on Akari's shirt, her feet flailing in thin air, and her entire body started rocking from side to side. She could feel the fingers start to penetrate her.

 _Red red red red red red red red—_

" _Stop!"_

Her body spasmed wildly in an effort to get Akari to stop, as though she had been zapped with a thousand volts, and she finally found her voice, letting out a torrent of pleas and protests. In her flailing, she kicked Akari away from her, knocking her onto the ground with a dull thud, and scrambled further up the bed, so that she was sitting back up in the fetal position, her back against the wall.

Seconds passed until Chinatsu finally started to calm down. Her body was still shaking, and she was crying, but her heart wasn't pounding as much. She looked back up at Akari, who was now standing against the opposite wall, looking back with a blank expression.

"Chinatsu . . ."

She opened her mouth, but her throat was too hoarse to say anything. Besides, how could she even begin to apologize for that outburst? Unable to speak through her sobs, she buried her face in her knees, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry," Akari said, her voice meek and barely audible.

Chinatsu looked back up and saw Akari's eyes begin to fill with tears as well.

 _Huh?_

"I'm so sorry . . ." Akari clutched at the front of her skirt, as tears began to stream down her cheeks and her body began shaking.

"A-Akari?"

"I was so caught up in everything, so determined to make you feel good . . . and I didn't even think to ask if you wanted it . . ."

 _Oh god._

"A-And now I'm—I . . ." Akari grasped onto her hair, wildly shaking her head, as though trying to cast out the memory of what just happened. Her once pink-tinged face was now pale and ghastly. "Oh my god, how could I . . .?" she whispered, more to herself than to Chinatsu.

She turned away and bolted to the door. With one final look back at Chinatsu, she was gone. After a few more seconds, Chinatsu regained her senses and pulled herself up to follow her, not minding the fact that she was topless and that her legs were still wobbling, but by then it was too late. The front door had been slammed shut, and the apartment was empty.

Cold, alone, and still unsure of what exactly had just happened, Chinatsu collapsed to the carpeted floor of their living room and sobbed uncontrollably, until it was early-morning and she was all out of tears.

* * *

 **I apologize for nothing.**


End file.
